A True Hero
by Heartsky
Summary: IMPORTANT: THIS VERSION OF THE STORY IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED. PLEASE SEE "A HERO OF A DIFFERENT KIND" FOR THE REWRITTEN VERSION.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Donkey Kong.**

It seemed to be a normal end to a normal day on Donkey Kong Island. The Kongs were celebrating another victory against K. Rool. D.K.'s banana hoard was safe, Diddy, Tiny, Lanky, and Chunky were free, and the Blast-O-Matic was shut down.

The Kongs were having their own little party on the beach. Donkey Kong was eating bananas so fast he was practically breathing them. Diddy watched and just shook his head. _He's not eating bananas, _he thought, _he's _going _bananas, _but he knew Donkey had worked hard lately and needed to have some fun. He was startled as he heard a soft, sweet giggle behind him.

He spun around to see Dixie smiling at him mischievously. "Do you wanna help me test this new Jet Pack Funky made? It's powered completely by Orange Grenades, so the danger level is high!" Diddy just grinned and nodded. The two ran off, and would surely end up causing trouble.

A few moments later, Candy arrived, wearing a long, sleeveless hot pink dress and had her blonde hair atop her head in an updo. She began talking in her most sugary voice. "Donkey dear, how would you like to...oh!" She shrieked as she saw Donkey shoving bananas into his mouth. "Donkey, what are you doing?" she practically screamed, all of the sugaryness out of her voice. He turned his head and said,

"Donkey eating bananas." Candy let out a groan and said, exasperated.

"WHAT have I told you about using proper English?" Donkey quickly replied,

"Oh, right. I meant _I _am eating bananas." Candy narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why do you start talking like that when you are around bananas? Or even _thinking _about bananas?" Her voice got louder and her face turned red. "I bet you like bananas more than me! I bet if you had to choose between me and bananas, you would choose bananas, right?"

Donkey cowered. He was too scared to say anything, but Candy took his silence the wrong way. "I KNEW it! Well, you and me are over. Don't even try getting me back, because I'm so over you! Stay away from me, you disgusting freak!" She stormed off. "Wait, Candy!" Donkey started to follow her, but she just turned and glared at him. "I'm going home." She declared flatly. Donkey sat down and whimpered pitifully.

Suddenly, a chorus of squawks filled the air. The Kong's parrot friend, Squawks, flew over from K. Rool's Mechanical Island. He had been spying on K. Rool to be sure he wasn't already planning anything new. Lanky looked up and said, "Hey Squawks. Anything to report?" Squawks started chirping excitedly.

"I've got big, big news!" All the Kongs gathered around. (Except for Candy, Diddy, and Dixie, of course). Squawks chattered excitedly, "K. Rool's got some Kremling sickness called Kremling Kough. Apparently you get it from being in the rain too much." Tiny smirked.

"I'm not surprised. It's always raining on that mechanical island of his. But why should we care? K. Rool has a cold. So what?" Squawks looked Tiny in the eye.

"Kremling Kough is no cold, Tiny. It sounds mild and harmless, but it's not. It's a severe chest infection that can often be fatal. And in K. Rool's case, it's headed that way."

For a moment there was silence. Then suddenly the beach erupted with cheers. "No more stealing Donkey's banana hoard!" Donkey cheered.

"No more getting captured!" Lanky shouted as he began dancing rather clumsily.

"No more bothersome young apes complaining about their problems to me!" Cranky jeered.

"That Kremling just couldn't take my FIREPOWER!" Funky said, even though firepower had nothing to do with K. Rool's sickness.

"Good riddance, I say." Tiny added. Everyone on the beach was celebrating. Everyone except Chunky, that is.

He just stood where he was, staring at the floor, twiddling his thumbs behind his back. He seemed pretty downcast for some reason. No one noticed him though. After a while he slipped away quietly.

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard in the distance. Everyone's attention snapped toward the noise. A few moments later, Diddy came hurtling through the air on a Jet Pack, Dixie clinging onto it for her life. A huge cloud of smoke was behind them, and the half the Jet Pack was blown off.

A loud thud could be heard as they crashed onto the beach.


	2. Chapter 2

Diddy slowly got up and shook the sand out of his fur. "Yeah, um, the orange grenades kind of all went off at once instead of one at a time, so the Jet Pack didn't really work well. Say, where's Candy?" Donkey Kong burst into tears at that. Dixie looked confused.

"Did we miss something?" Lanky nodded.

"First of all, K. Rool has a terrible sickness that will probably end up being fatal. And Candy broke up with Donkey Kong." Diddy gasped.

"Oh, Donkey I'm so sorry!" He ran over to comfort his heartbroken uncle.

Suddenly, Tiny realized Chunky was missing. "Has anyone seen Chunky?" Everyone shook their heads. Suddenly Tiny felt worried. She quickly ran off the beach and into the little jungle area where Donkey Kong's house was. She looked around, then spotted Chunky sitting at a little pond nearby. She slowly walked up to him and sat next to her cousin.

"Is something wrong, Chunky?" She asked quietly. He bit his lip, then said,

"I...I just couldn't watch you all celebrating like that...it kind of made me feel...sick." Tiny was puzzled.

"What do you mean?" Chunky sighed. How he felt would be heard to explain. Maybe it would be better if he just stayed quiet. "Chunky...come on, we're cousins, and best friends. You can tell what's on your mind. I promise I won't laugh at you." Tiny said reassuringly. Chunky took a deep breath and began,

"Well, don't you think that celebrating someone else's death is a little...low, for a Kong?"

"Huh?" Tiny said.

"I mean, isn't celebrating someone else's death something you'd picture a _villain _doing? I thought we were the heroes, and heroes help anyone in trouble, right?" Tiny gasped.

"Chunky, don't tell me you feel _sorry _for K. Rool? Are you going insane? How can you feel sorry for a Kremling?" Chunky didn't respond. "Kremlings and Kongs have never been friends! You know why?" Chunky lifted his head.

"Why not?" He said rather angrily. Tiny was surprised. Chunky almost never got angry.

"Because you can't trust a Kremling! You know that, Chunky!" Tiny said vehemently. Suddenly she calmed down. "I'm sorry, Chunky. I didn't mean to snap at you. But I think you need to go to a doctor and get your head checked." She stood up and walked away, shaking her head. She knew Chunky was a sweet guy, but...feeling sorry for a Kremling? Something had to be wrong with him.

Chunky stared at the horizon. The sun was setting, casting a reddish-orange glow over everything. _Tiny, my own cousin, thinks I'm crazy. The other Kongs will probably think the same thing. _he thought sadly. _Sure, K. Rool's been a bully, but...he never actually tried to kill us. His minions give us some bruises or knock us out for a while, but if he wanted to kill us, he would have by now, when he had most of us captured. I...I just can't stand by while someone else is dying. It doesn't matter who it is. _Chunky had made up his mind. One way or another, he was going to try to save K. Rool. _But what should I do? Well there's probably some medicine to cure Kremling Kough. But I'd have to find out what it is and where to find it. Maybe it'd say in a library or something... _Chunky thought hard to try and remember if there was a library somewhere. Then he gasped in horror as he realized there was a library. In a castle. In Creepy Castle, a place full of horrors. "I guess I have to go to Creepy Castle..." He murmured.

What he didn't realize was that Tiny was still watching him while hiding in a bush.


	3. Chapter 3

Tiny ran onto the beach, a frightened expression on her face. As she approached, everyone looked up at her curiously. "Where were you?" Diddy questioned her. She stopped a few feet in front of him, breathing heavily.

"Chunky...we've got to...stop him..."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Lanky interrupted.

Tiny waited until her breathing returned to normal, then started talking so fast you could barely tell what she was saying."Chunky thinks he's going to help K. Rool something must be wrong with him we have to stop him he's going to Creepy Castle I'm not sure why I'm so worried!"

"Wha-at?" Dixie nearly screeched, her eyes huge.

"Why would he go and do a thing like that?" Cranky yelled.

Diddy replied, "Well, maybe he felt under-appreciated and decided to switch sides."

Tiny shook her head. "Chunky's not the type of monkey who would do that sort of thing."

Dixie nodded."Tiny's right. Chunky would never do that . He's _grateful_ he's not noticed very often. He feels uncomfortable "in the spotlight", so to speak." Diddy felt a prick of guilt. He had worked with Chunky for years, yet he felt like he hardly knew him. Diddy resolved to get to know him better once this madness was over.

"I bet K. Rool isn't even sick! I bet he's just pretending to be sick so he can trick us into thinking we don't have to worry about him and then he'll trap us." Dixie theorized.

"Hey!" Squawks protested. "Have you forgotten that the only reason we know K. Rool is sick is because I was spying on him. He couldn't have known I was there."

Dixie considered this for a moment."Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you were a lousy spy, Squawks."

Lanky started jumping up and down. "Oooh, I bet I know what's going on! I bet one of the Kremlings is mind controlling Chunky!"

Diddy rolled his eyes."Next you'll be telling me Kremlings are actually aliens!"

Lanky's eyes widened. "I bet you're right! I bet they are aliens!"

"What? There are aliens on the island!" Funky broke in.

"There are no aliens. You youngsters believe everything you hear nowadays." Cranky grumbled.

Suddenly Tiny yelled."YOU GUYS! Please stop. This is an EMERGENCY! The reality is that Chunky is trying to help K. Rool. I don't know what's wrong with him, but we've gotta stop him before he gets hurt or even..." She trailed off.

"Killed?" Donkey finished for her.

Tiny nodded. "So if you all wanna sit here making up stories, you can, but I'm going to go stop Chunky."

"Tiny, don't be like that." Diddy said. "Of course we're coming with you."

Tiny sighed."I'm sorry. I'm just so worried."

Lanky chuckled."We hadn't noticed." He said sarcastically. Tiny's face drew into a sheepish smile.

Dixie strode over to Donkey. "You know, we should probably tell Candy what's happened and invite her to come with."

Donkey whimpered."Do we _have_ to?"

"Of course we do! This is a family emergency! She has the right to know." Dixie narrowed her eyes.

Donkey sighed."I guess you're right." Dixie, Lanky, and Tiny ran off to tell Candy what had happened. They returned shortly with Candy. "You're coming?" Donkey exclaimed.

"Of course!" Candy shot back, staring at Donkey icily. "Just 'cause I'm mad at you doesn't mean I'm going to ignore my family and friends."

"All right, is everyone ready to go?" Tiny said in a very authoritative voice as she flipped a blonde ponytail over her shoulder.

In the midst of replies such as "Yes," "Yep," and "Yeah,"

Cranky raised his voice above the others."No, I'm not."

Tiny groaned."What's wrong?" She said impatiently.

Cranky narrowed his eyes."Slow down a minute. Why are you all so dead-set on stopping Chunky?"

"Um, maybe because he could get seriously hurt!" Tiny replied.

Cranky let out an exasperated sigh."I know it's dangerous. But why can't you go help him instead of trying to stop him? Together, I'm sure you wouldn't have much to worry about."

"Are you saying you agree with Chunky? Cranky, you're only making things more difficult. Chunky's lost his mind."

"Chunky is perfectly sane. Just because he thinks differently than you doesn't mean he's crazy. He can think for himself. Why can't you silly monkeys see that?" Cranky was waving his cane around. The other Kongs backed away nervously.

"Well, are you coming or not?" Candy stomped her foot impatiently.

Cranky ignored her and slowly began walking toward his lab. He muttered, "Crazy stubborn kids." Tiny shrugged, and the Kongs turned to leave. When Cranky finally reached his lab, went inside, and sat down in his rocking chair, he quietly and bitterly murmured, "No one ever listens to me."


	4. Chapter 4

Chunky seemed to be frozen in place. In front of him was the biggest cannon that he or any other Kong had ever seen. It was the cannon that would propel a monkey to Creepy Castle, Chunky's personal least favorite place to go in the entire world. _Why, oh why does the only library I know of have to be in Creepy Castle? _Chunky wondered worriedly to himself.

He really, really didn't want to go in that cannon. Maybe he could just forget the whole thing. _NO. _A stubborn voice inside him told him he couldn't just forget it. Someone was in trouble and he had to do his best to help.

Suddenly images of all the fear, pain, and suffering the Kongs had gone through because of K. Rool flashed through Chunky's head, trying to give him an excuse not to go. But he pushed them away. He was going and that was that.

He took a few steps forward, and then he was launched into the air, higher and higher, into the dark clouds above.

* * *

><p>Suddenly Chunky landed, and not on a soft, fluffy cloud, either. On hard, cold earth. He slowly stood up and sighed. Here he was. Creepy Castle. Cold rain pelted his fur, and wind howled, sending a shiver down his spine. He looked around. <em>Great, <em>he thought as he realized he had landed on the small floating island separate from the rest of Creepy Castle.

There was a bridge between this island and the rest of creepy castle, but it was very long and skinny. _I hate this bridge..._ Chunky thought ruefully. He slowly stepped onto the bridge. It groaned. It was soaking wet, so it was pretty soft and bent under Chunky's weight. _I really hate this bridge..._

He slowly made his way across, trying desperately to not look down. He knew what he would see if he did: darkness. No solid ground. If he fell, there was absolutely no way he could survive. He was too high up. The farther out Chunky went, the more the soggy bridge bent.

But it didn't break. He made it all the way across and it didn't break. He bent over and kissed the ground when he reached the other side. Of course, his relief did not last long. He had only passed his first obstacle. He had a long way to go before he reached the library.

The rain and cold seemed to soak right into Chunky's bones. The very air seemed to whisper of despair and loneliness. It was worse than last time. At least then he had the other Kongs at his side. This time he was utterly alone. He walked across wet grass and climbed up rickety wooden ladders. So much of this place looked so similar. Chunky lost all sense of distance. All he knew was that he must keep going.

For a long while he saw no one. There seemed to be nothing here, living or undead. You might think this was a great relief; but it made Chunky feel worse. His feeling loneliness was increasing by the second. He felt deserted, as if he was the last creature in the whole world and he would be stranded alone forever. Then, without warning, there was some rustling in the dead branches of some bushes.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the entrance to Creepy Castle, all of the Kongs except Candy had crossed the bridge. "Come on, Candy." Lanky called.<p>

"That thing doesn't look stable." Candy said nervously.

"Aw, don't worry. We all made it across okay." Diddy encouraged her.

"Fine, fine." She cautiously made her way across. Everything seemed fine until she was almost on the other side. But suddenly the bridge groaned loudly and sagged. Candy gasped.

Donkey Kong jumped onto the bridge, picked Candy up, and threw her safely to the other side. Then the bridge gave way, and Donkey started to fall. Candy screamed. She ran to the edge of the floating island. She reached down and grabbed Donkey's hand before he fell too far. Donkey was heavier than Candy, so she started sliding closer and closer to the edge. Tiny and Lanky rushed forward and each grabbed one of Candy's feet. They pulled her and Donkey up. Diddy ran to Donkey and hugged his uncle, glad he was safe.

For a few minutes no one said anything. The shock of what had almost just happened silenced them. Candy stared at the ground. After a few minutes, Tiny broke the silence. " We better get moving." So the whole group started walking again.

* * *

><p>Farther into Creepy Castle, Chunky was having his own problems. Three bone-kritters jumped out of the bushes. For a second, Chunky was relieved to finally see a living (well, sort of...) thing besides himself. But then he became worried. How would he fight off all three at once?<p>

He punched one of the bone-kritter's heads off, but the other two ganged up on him. Each one grabbed one of his arms and twisted it behind him. Pain shot through his arms. He kicked one of them. The bone-kritter's grip loosened, and Chunky pulled his arm free. But then, two more bone-kritters appeared out of nowhere. _I am so dead._ Chunky thought.

But then, a blinding light filled his eyes and a deafening roar filled his ears. Searing pain shot through his left arm. Slowly, the roaring he heard ebbed away, and his vision also faded, until he could see nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everybody! I know it's been a while, but I assure you, I haven't dropped this story. I just haven't found much time to work on it lately. By the way, I re-uploaded chapter 3, so hopefully it's a little less confusing now. Thanks to Agent Beetle for the advice on improving that chapter. So hope you like the chapter. And I do not own Donkey Kong, of course!**

Chunky couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything, either, except for a ringing in his ears. His whole body felt numb.

Slowly his vision began to return, and the ringing in his ears faded away. Chunky stared at the sky in shock. What had just happened? Slowly, he started to hear the thunder again, and eventually his hearing recovered enough for him to hear the rain falling.

The numbness in his body was wearing off, so he sat up and looked around. The bone-kritters lay in pieces beside him, and there was a patch of blackened ground under one of them, emitting smoke into the air. Chunky's boggled mind began to put the pieces together. One of the bone-kritters had been struck by lightning. Chunky and the other bone-kritters had been close enough to be affected by it too, but the bone-kritters, being made of only bones, hadn't withstood the impact as well as Chunky had.

Eventually, Chunky was able to stand up, although it did hurt, as if he had been sunburned. Other than that, Chunky didn't notice any other immediate problems caused by the lightning strike-except for his left arm. It still felt completely numb. It must have been closer to the lightning then the rest of him.

Suddenly, Chunky heard voices. "I wonder why Chunky came here, anyways. There isn't anything here that could help K. Rool, is there?" Chunky recognized the voice of Diddy. _Oh no,_ he thought to himself. _The other Kongs came to stop me._

Chunky quickly stood up and began running up the board walk which wound around the castle, doing his best to ignore the pain that movement brought. After a while, he saw the door labeled "Library." Bingo! That was what he was looking for. But then he remembered that in order to open the door, you had to pound a switch farther up the boardwalk. Chunky ran a little farther up the boardwalk until he came to an unlabeled door with a switch in front of it. That switch opened the door marked "Library." Except there was one problem. This switch was specifically meant for Donkey Kong. It wouldn't matter how hard Chunky pounded it, it wouldn't work for him.

But then Chunky remembered that the unlabeled door also led into the library. Donkey Kong had told the Kongs that after he had ventured into the library the first time. But there was no knob on the outside, so it must only open from the inside. _Darn it! _Chunky thought.

Desperate to avoid being confronted by the other Kongs, Chunky did the only thing he could think of: he punched the door with his right hand, putting all his strength into the punch. The door flew apart, splinters scattering everywhere.

Chunky entered the library cautiously. He was in a small, empty room, but ahead of him was a hallway lined with bookshelves. Flying in and out of the shelves were books, obviously haunted. Angry little eyes stared out of the books and at him, daring him to even try walking down the hallway.

Chunky gulped. Donkey Kong had been able to use his invincibility power when he had been here, but Chunky didn't have use of that power. He would just have to hope he could get through without getting injured too badly. He stood there a moment, gathering his wits, then ran forward. He felt a book hit the side of his head. Disoriented, he stopped running and and realigned himself to face the other end of the hall.

He ran forward again, head bent. Books hit his legs, nearly knocking him over. They hit his arms, too. When a book hit his right arm, he felt it, searing like fire because of the burns from the lightning strike. But when a book hit his left arm, he realized with alarm, he didn't feel a thing. No feeling had returned to it at all.

Finally, bruised but not injured badly, Chunky made it to the end of the hall. Chunky walked down a few empty corridors, feeling apprehensive because he didn't hear anything making any noise. It was a little _too _quiet.

Suddenly he heard some squeaking noises and a few big, purple bats flew toward him, but he managed to avoid them pretty well. Finally, he entered the main library room. Shelves lined every wall, and all the shelves were filled with books. In the center of the room, three huge, red-covered books sat in a pile. Chunky was curious. What in the world could be inside them? He lifted the cover of one, only to find it was blank. Strange.

He turned to look at the shelves filled with books. After ten irritating minutes of searching he finally found a book that might be useful. It was entitled "Kremling Diseases, Illnesses, and Other Ailments." Chunky flipped open the book. The first page described, in detail, the life and education of K. Ure, the author, who was apparently a very famous Kremling Doctor. _So,_ Chunky thought to himself, _Kremlings _do_ have doctors. Apparantly K. Rool didn't think he would need one, though. _Chunky continued flipping through the book, past "Alligator Aches", "Crocodile Chills", and "Demoralizing Diarrhea", until he finally found the illness the had been searching for.

_Kremling Kough- A Kremling gets Kremling Kough from spending too much time in the damp and cold. It is a severe chest infection that is almost always fatal. There had only been one case that has not resulted in death. This is because the only known cure for Kremling Kough, the Soleil Mushroom, is extremely rare. It has been found growing next to trees in woodland areas sometimes, but only once in a great while. It has an unusual golden color._

Chunky stared at the page, feeling discouraged. "rare" and "once in a great while" were not very encouraging words. It seemed Chunky's chances of helping K. Rool were pretty slim. But he still had to try. He just had to!

Chunky noticed it was getting rather warm in the library. He took his baseball cap off his sweaty, furry head and set it down on one of the giant books. What sort of woody areas were around here? Chunky wondered. Then, suddenly it came to him, like a light bulb turning on inside his head. Fungi Forest! Of course! Eager to see if his hunch was correct, Chunky raced out of the room, leaving the open book and his baseball cap on top of the pile of giant books.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed so far, it really helps to motivate me to keep writing! Here's the next chapter. **

Candy plodded along behind the other Kongs, making their way through Creepy Castle. A tense silence still hung in the air. The shock of Candy's near-death experience hadn't worn off yet. They slowly but surely made their way through Creepy Castle. Their silence seemed to intensify the dark, somber mood of the place.

Candy looked to the front of the group, to where Donkey Kong and Tiny were leading the way. She bit her lip. Donkey had just saved her life! He had risked _everything_ for her. He could have died! His actions had proven to her, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that she meant much more to him than a pile of bananas. She felt perfectly awful for yelling at him earlier.

She wanted to make things right between them, but for once all her charming, sweet words abandoned her. When she tried to think of what she should say to him, her mind went blank. How could she apologize for doubting him like that?

So she stayed silent for the moment. After walking a while longer, Diddy broke the silence. "I wonder why Chunky came here, anyways. There isn't anything here he could use to help K. Rool, is there?"

Lanky shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

"He could be anywhere in Creepy Castle! There are so many doors he could have gone into! Or maybe he didn't go inside at all!" Tiny said anxiously.

Donkey Kong sighed. Tiny was right. Chunky could be anywhere. "Let's just keep walking. Maybe we'll find a clue about where he went," he said. No one had any better ideas, so the group kept walking. They passed door after door, unsure of what they should do until a startling sight met their eyes. One of the doors was busted open, and splinters of wood were everywhere. The Kongs stared at it.

Finally, Donkey spoke up. "Chunky must have been here."

Funky looked surprised. "Really? Chunky can punch down a door like that?" Donkey Kong nodded. Funky was amazed. "Wow! Without a gun or even an axe? That's AWESOME!"

The other Kongs chuckled at Funky's enthusiasm. Then, after a moment, they carefully made their way inside. When the group saw the haunted books, they shrunk away from them. "What are those?!" Candy said, frightened.

Donkey tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, Candy. I've been here before. There's another way in. I have to hit a switch to open the door, though. I'll be right back." He disappeared out of the room. Candy's face reddened a little, as she was still feeling ashamed of herself. A few moments later, Donkey Kong tore past them, yelling, "Follow me!" Tiny was going to ask him why he was in such a terrible rush, but he was gone before she could say a word. The group quickly moved to follow him.

The entire group of Kongs ran back to the door marked "Library." There was empty space between the door and the ramp they were standing on. Well, not _exactly_ empty; there was a cloud hovering between the door and the ramp. Donkey jumped onto the cloud and to the door. He held it open. "Okay, guys. You need to get in quickly, because this thing closes after about 20 seconds, so I'll have to keep it open for you. So please hurry, it is already trying to close!" Donkey was straining to keep the door open. Diddy scampered across the cloud and stood just inside the doorway, waiting for the others.

Dixie shouted, "Right behind you!" She followed Diddy, doing a cartwheel across the cloud. Diddy stared at her in awe. "Wow! That was good!" he said.

"Thanks!" Dixie said, blushing.

Tiny rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother!" she said quietly, smiling. She was glad her sister and Diddy made each other happy, but she still thought the way they acted was kind of silly. _Will I act like that around boys when I get a little older, too?_ She wondered to herself. Well, she didn't have time to worry about that now. Right now she just wanted to find her cousin.

Tiny jumped into the air and spun around. She reached the open door without even touching the cloud.

"Show off!" Dixie said, shoving her sister playfully. Tiny stuck out her tongue. How ironic that even here, in one of the gloomiest places in the world, Dixie and Tiny could still make each other smile.

The rest of the Kongs quickly filed into the room. Candy was the last to walk across the cloud. She had never liked high places, and the cloud didn't seem solid at all. Donkey Kong let out a grunt. The door couldn't be held open much longer. Candy took a deep breath, then walked across the cloud, not daring to look down.

Finally, she reached the other side. Donkey finally was able to let go of the door.

The group wandered around the library until Lanky spotted Chunky's hat and the open book in the room with the stack of giant books. "Chunky's been here!" He shouted. Everyone rushed in. "See? He left his hat in here."

Tiny approached the giant book-table and picked up the book on Kremling diseases. She read the page. "Guys, it says here that the cure for K. Rool's sickness grows in woodland areas."

"Hmm...let's see...well, that means he probably went to Fungi Forest...or maybe Jungle Japes, although I don't know if that counts as a _woodland _area, but maybe it's close enough." Dixie deduced.

"Well, that means we should probably look in those places." Tiny muttered. "Okay! I think we should split up. Donkey, Funky, and Candy should look in Jungle Japes. Diddy, Lanky, Dixie, and I will look in Fungi Forest."

"Darn it. I was hoping we'd get to go to Gloomy Galleon..." Lanky mumbled to himself.

"Don't even say that! That place was so annoying! The only reason you like that place is that you swim like a fish!" Tiny argued. "The rest of us could hardly keep up with you!"

"Well, I always _was_ clumsier on land than in water." Lanky observed.

It was true. On land, Lanky was the clumsy one, but underwater, it was everyone else who was clumsy.

"Well, anyway we better get moving." Dixie reminded the group. Everyone left the library. After walking a while, the group of monkeys reached the gap where the wooden bridge used to be. To their shock, a new wooden board was where the old one stood. It was wider than the olde one, too. Diddy surveyed the area until he noticed a large board was missing from a nearby shack. Chunky must have done it. Diddy was glad Chunky had replaced it, even if it was a hastily done job. The group crossed the bridge, left Creepy Castle, and split up.

**Meh, maybe not the most interesting chapter, but things should pick up a little in the next few chapters.**


	7. Chapter 7

**The next chapter is up finally! Sorry about all the OC's in this chapter, but I wanted to show what was happening over at hideout helm, and K. Rool doesn't have a whole lot of named minions. Anyway, I'm aiming to have the next chapter up either this week or next week.**

"I won!" A cheer escaped from the scaly pale-green kritter's mouth. He grinned slightly at his darker green companion, sitting across the table from him. "I can't believe I beat you at checkers! I never beat you at anything, Kristopher."

The darker kritter glowered. "Shut up. It's only because I'm distracted 'cause I'm worried about the boss. Or don't you really care what happens to him?"

"Of course I do! But worrying won't help him. If there's nothing we can do, there's no point driving yourself crazy thinking about it. It's better to take your mind off it."

"Well, excuse me for not being weak-minded enough to find a game of checkers so fascinating I forget everything else! It's just a stupid game."

"I am not weak-minded! And you're only saying that because you lost!"

A third kritter approached the arguing ones. "Kristopher, Kody, cut it out! I've got enough to worry about without you two bickering like children."

The paler kritter named Kody beamed as soon as he saw her. "Krystal! You're back!" He practically leapt out of his chair and wrapped Krystal in a hug.

"Oh!" Krystal yelped in surprise. "Hi Kody. Nice to see you too." A smile filled her face.

Kristopher rolled his eyes. "So, did you find anything?"

After escaping Kody's hug, Krystal nodded and held up a leather sack. "Yep. I caught a Gnawty. I managed to skin it too." She handed the bag to Kristopher. "Since I went to the work of catching it, could you do the cooking?"

Kristopher let out a heavy sigh. "Okay sis, fine." He took the bag from Krystal and started walking down the metallic hallways of Hideout Helm, toward the room the kremlings used for cooking. It was rather slow going, though. The place was teeming with kremlings of all sorts, gathered at their base because of the emergency of their leader's terminal illness. Kody and Krystal looked around. There were krushas, kritters, klaptraps, klumps, and...

_kasplats._

Krystal narrowed her eyes as she noticed the purple haired kasplat making his way through the crowd. It was Bruise, one of K. Rool's generals. Or more, one of his _former_ generals. After K. Rool had gotten frustrated with how many blueprints the Kongs had recovered, had fired him via the Giant Klaptrap Room, which was a glass-walled room with a giant klaptrap in it. Bruise had run around in terror as the other Kremlings looked on. Of course, he had eventually found the hole in the wall and escaped without a scratch, but he had never forgiven K. Rool for that humiliation or for firing him.

"So, Fatso's finally done for, huh?" Bruise said rather loudly. He smirked. "About time. He's been leader long enough." A few kremlings cheered in agreement, but most stared at him in shock.

Kody's hands balled into fists. "How can you talk like that about K. Rool?!"

Bruise looked at Kody. "He humiliated me and took away my position as a general. He made a serious mistake. He is obviously not a competent leader."

"And who is? _You_?" Krystal practically spat at him.

Bruise chuckled. "Why, yes! I will take K. Rool's place as leader and I will lead the kremlings to glory!" he bellowed, the marched down the hallway, his few supporters in tow.

Krystal grimaced. "I can't stand him! Lead the kremlings to glory, indeed! More like lead them to ruin."

Kody nodded. "He would use his position as leader as an excuse to take what he wanted from everyone."

"Yes. But if K. Rool dies, Bruise will easily seize the position of leader. He's one of the strongest kremlings around." Krystal sighed. Yes, K. Rool was tough, but he had always known how to take care of his subjects. Bruise was selfish and narcissistic and in truth he didn't give a reptile's scale about the kingdom. He would neglect his subjects and the country would fall to pieces. _Oh, K. Rool, please, please don't die. _Krystal thought to herself.

* * *

><p>A few moments later, Krystal, Kristopher, and Kody went to K. Rool's throne room. Instead of sitting in his throne as usual, K. Rool was lying in a bed at the edge of the room. The room practically shook as K. Rool went into a violent coughing fit. The three kritters cringed at the awful, raspy sound. Finally, after a few minutes, the coughing finally died down. The kritters exchanged worried glances. "It's getting worse." Kody whispered.<p>

Kristopher took a few hesitant steps into the room. "Um, boss, we made you some soup."

K. Rool's head snapped around, not having realized anyone was in his room. "I don't need soup! I'm *cough* fine."

Kristopher looked at him skeptically but said nothing. K. Rool let out a heavy sigh. "Well, maybe not. But soup won't help me. Leave me alone."

Kody walked to Kristopher and snatched the bowl of soup from him. He walked right up to K. Rool's bedside. "Kody, what are you doing?" Kristopher whispered, concerned.

Kody removed the spoon from the soup bowl and held it out to K. Rool. "Please, K. Rool? It might help." Krystal and Kristopher stared open-mouthed. What was he _thinking_?!

"Here comes the choo-choo train?"

_He's doomed._

K. Rool sat up abruptly and practically roared. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FOOL?! GET THAT OUT OF MY FACE!" Kody backed away quickly to Kristopher's side. K. Rool's chest heaved as he breathed heavily from the effort of shouting, his bloodshot left eye twitching a bit. "Don't...ever...speak...to me...like that...again." He managed to say between breaths.

Kristopher hissed in Kody's ear. "Kody, you can be such an idiot sometimes." It was common knowledge that you had to be careful when speaking to K. Rool. He was very temperamental, and wasn't always the most sane.

After his breathing had returned to normal, K. Rool eyed the soup in Kody's claws. "Actually...I am kind of hungry." He extended his claw.

Kody cautiously placed the soup bowl in K. Rool's claw. It fit into the kremling king's palm, being designed for a regular-sized kremling and all. He downed the soup in one gulp, then laid back down on his bed wearily. The three kritters left the room, worrying about what was to become of their leader and their kingdom.

**So, there you go. As you could probably tell, Kody's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, haha. He's meant to be of a more optimistic and cheerful kremling, to sort of oppose Kristopher's more pessimistic/grumpy attitude. Any ways, hope you enjoyed it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Aaaand now we return to see what Chunky is up to. Yep, I'm back, and I'm aiming to do an update a month on this story. I may not make it but that's my goal as of now. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this over the months. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

It was nowhere.

He had run all over Fungi Forest, looked under every tree, in every moss-covered log, in every long-grassed field. But he could not find it.

Chunky was exhausted. His hunt for the soleil mushroom had been unfruitful and lengthy. The oversized ape ran a hand through his fur, trying to compose himself, but he felt the panic rising in his chest. _K. Rool is dying. I don't have time for this! Every second spent searching is another inch closer to his death._

Chunky tensed up rather suddenly when he realized that if he was running his hand through the fur on his head, he must not be wearing his hat. Dang it! He must have taken it off and left it somewhere.

This upset Chunky even more. He loved that hat, and now he had gone and lost it.

Not paying attention to where he was going, Chunky walked around distractedly. His mind was working at a frantic pace and he neglected to realize he was heading toward the well.

He placed a furry hand on the edge of the well, stopping to try to collect his thoughts. He didn't notice the zinger until it was alarmingly close.

Finally, he saw it, and with a scream, he tried to step backwards to get away. The issue with that was that the well was behind him. He tripped, lost his balance, and fell in.

* * *

><p>As he fell, unpleasant memories came flooding into his mind.<p>

_Fire. Empty blackness beneath the rails. Barrels of TNT. Kremlings with clubs._

Chunky began to despair. He wasn't looking forward to the ride ahead.

* * *

><p>He landed in the mine cart and it immediately began moving forward. <em>No! I have to get out!<em> But there was no getting out. Carried by the momentum of his fall and his weight, the cart was already moving far too fast for Chunky to stop it now.

Chunky sped forward into the dark, dank tunnel. Pieces of metal, which seemed to be support beams of some sort, fell over once in a while along with rocks and rubble. There were a few torches burning here and there, popping and crackling, burning angrily. Chunky didn't like fire. It made him nervous. _Those torches are awfully close…_ he thought worriedly.

The life-sustaining beating inside the ape's chest elevated every time a rock or piece of rubble fell near him. He leaned from side to side in a frantic attempt to avoid them. He felt the entire cart begin to shift and groan until it came to a point of balance on one of the edges of the cart. The wheels began to scrape against the tracks. After passing the rubble, Chunky swiftly leaned back the other way to keep from falling. The mine cart slammed back onto the track roughly, slowing it down slightly.

Chunky almost didn't notice the gate which the cart was rolling toward. "Aaah!" He yelled, not wanting a painful collision with the gate. He tried to stand up as quickly as he could and reach up to hit the bell hanging above his head. His hand almost missed it, but Chunky heard a quiet ringing and knew he must have hit it. The gate flew up immediately. Normally, Chunky would have let out a breath of relief, but hardly had time to be relieved. A rock fell just inches behind him, scraping the back of the mine cart. Chunky was seriously beginning to freak out. It was all just too much!

Suddenly, all of Chunky's frenzied thoughts came to a sudden halt.

The mine cart exited the dark tunnel it had been in and was suddenly riding the tracks in the middle of a beautiful field. The sun shone down, unobscured by clouds or trees. Sunlight filled with warm, golden goodness hit him full force.

It would seem that Chunky was in some sort of canyon. Steep hills rose up around him in every direction, as if they were walls, forming a sort of bowl shape. A waterfall cascaded into the valley. The glint of sunlight was hitting the waterfall at just the right angle, so that a ribbon of color emanated from it.

Chunky gaped at the rainbow, and at the sudden change in atmosphere. This place was so quiet and calm. Dew from the waterfall covered the vibrant green blades of grass, which made them glitter as if they were emeralds. Butterflies flitted about, and small woodland animals scurried up and down small trees.

Chunky was confused. _I don't remember this place from last time I fell in the well._

For now, Chunky didn't have time to ponder about it. The mine cart abruptly re-entered the tunnels at the other side of the canyon. Back into the dark. Back to the falling rocks and shut gates.

It was no mystery now why Chunky had forgotten the field last time. It had been so brief, and the rest of the ride was so panic-driven, it was easy to forget that glimpse of serenity.

The ape in the mine cart became alert when he heard the sound of another mine cart. He peered ahead and saw that, up ahead; there was another set of tracks alongside the set he was on.

Bending his knees, Chunky prepared to jump. He knew that a Kremling would appear riding in another mine cart, club in hand, swinging at him. But when the mine cart appeared, it was empty. No Kremling. Nothing. Just an empty mine cart.

Chunky stared at it, perplexed. Suddenly he realized something. The entire time he had been searching for a cure, he hadn't seen a single Kremling (except for the bone-kritters, but they were undead, so they didn't really count). Not a single Kremling. The reason why that might be was about to dawn on Chunky when he was shaken from his thoughts by the sight of a TNT barrel on wheels heading directly for him.

Chunky frantically tried to stop the cart so a collision wouldn't occur. He attempted to grab the rails to halt the mine cart, but his hand slipped. _Dang it!_

The TNT barrel crossed the track Chunky was on seconds before he arrived at the same spot. Disaster had been avoided, but Chunky felt no relief. He just wanted out.

The track brought him outside again, but this time there was no rainbow or sunshine. Rain pelted Chunky's fur, sending a chill through his body. Lightning came down in forked tongues, followed by the drum-like note of thunder.

A gust of wind blew, swift and strong, and finally knocked the entire cart over. Chunky was tossed from the cart and deposited into a pile of oozing mud.

Chunky started up at the sky, motionless, for a few moments. Until now, he had been able to keep all of his fear, pain, and discomfort at bay. But now everything collided with him like a freight train.

The icy touch of rain soaked through his fur and into his skin. The wind amplified this feeling. The mud clung to him like a lonely child, sticky and gooey. Chunky felt stinging, biting pain in his left arm return full force. It was almost as painful as when he had first been struck by the lightning.

Chunky's determination was crumbling. _I just want to go home,_ he thought miserably. The huge, strong ape began to cry. He had failed. His search was a failure. K. Rool would die, and Chunky would probably be stuck here, alone, for a long time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Yay, new chapter! I don't have much to say except...I hope you all enjoy it, and thank to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story! I know my updates have been sporadic and you probably thought I had dropped it a couple of times. But if there's one thing I hate, it's leaving things unfinished. So, it may take a while, but I _will _finish this story eventually. I'll try to make some headway on it this summer.**

**I do not own Donkey Kong.**

All sense of time was lost to Chunky as he lay in the mud. Maybe he had managed to fall asleep somehow. Perhaps his fatigue had been too much. But for a long while, he knew nothing. The world was dark and silent. Vague, drifting thoughts wandered in and out of his mind, patternless and forgettable. Once in a while, he woke up slightly and saw the dim sky and the thin veil of rain.

This went on for some time, until a sound other than the pouring rain, gusting wind, or booming thunder entered his ears. It was a voice.

"Oh my gosh, he's over there!" The voice was high-pitched, obviously belonging to a female. The silvery, bell-like tone was all Chunky had to hear to know it was Dixie.

"Why is he just lying there?" This voice was straining to sound even and well-modulated, but there was a slight tremor in it. _Tiny._

A lower voice answered, obviously a male. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's not…" the voice trailed off. _Lanky._

"If he's dead, I will _kill_ K. Rool" The last voice was a higher-pitched male voice, but it was edged with barely contained rage. _Diddy._

Chunky felt a spasm of panic run through him at the world "kill". He hardly knew what was happening anymore, but he knew that word. He knew what it meant.

Dixie spoke again. "He just moved! He must be alive!" The sound of feet squishing in the mud followed. Chunky felt a hand on his shoulder. "Wake up! Chunky, wake up!" Dixie begged him, shaking his shoulders.

Chunky fought to open his eyes. He was met with the sight of huge, emerald-green eyes, clouded over with worry.

Chunky didn't have the energy to act surprised. "Hi, Dixie. What are you guys doing here?" He tried to sound casual, tried not to let his exhaustion and emotional stress show through.

"We followed you here, silly! We were worried you'd get hurt! And it's a good thing we did, too! What happened to you?"

"I fell into the well, and then the minecart crashed…"

"You poor thing! We need to get you out of here. Do you think you can walk?"

Chunky started to respond, but weariness overtook him again, and his eyes closed and succumbed to the darkness again.

* * *

><p>When Chunky awoke again, no longer felt wet or cold. He was covered in a warm blanket. The sky was still very dark, but now he saw stars instead of storm clouds. The sounds of the night drifted into his ears, the chirping of crickets and the hooting of owls. A lone wolf howl sounded, and Chunky felt the loneliness of the cry reverberate through his soul.<p>

He sat up slowly, cautiously. He was sitting in a small clearing near the clock tree in Fungi Forest, and the other Kongs were lying close to him, sleeping, except for Tiny, who was sitting up and staring at the sky.

She turned away from the sky when she heard him waking up. They stared at each other for a few moments, and then Chunky was forced to avert his eyes. Her green-tinged blue eyes burned at him too fiercely for him to continue staring.

Tiny stood up and walked over to him. She stood in front of him and crossed her arms, looking at him accusingly. "What were you thinking?! You could've gotten yourself killed! If we hadn't followed you…"

Chunky sighed. "I'm sorry, Tiny. I know it was dangerous to go alone. But if you guys had just come with me from the start, it wouldn't have been nearly as dangerous. But I knew you wouldn't agree to do that, especially after the way you reacted when I told you how I felt. I knew I couldn't trust you to support me then."

Tiny had been ready to snap back at him with a smart remark, but when she heard the last part, she felt herself freeze and shrivel up inside. All she had ever tried to be for her timid cousin was someone he could trust, someone he could run to when he felt upset. But now she knew she had failed him. He had come to her, upset and confused, and what had she done? She had scoffed at his feelings, had dismissed them as incorrect. She hadn't even tried to understand him.

"Chunky…I…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wouldn't listen to you. That was wrong of me. I didn't even try to understand how you felt."

"It's okay, Tiny. I should be grateful to you for putting up with me, even though the way I think isn't right."

"No, Chunky. There's nothing wrong with how you think. Your opinions should be respected, whether they are the same or different from everyone else's." She paused and brushed a piece of stray hair behind her ear. She sighed "I just don't understand why you're so concerned about K. Rool. I suppose I get why you thought our celebrating his death was a little morbid, but why should we do anything about it? Why should we put ourselves at risk for his sake?"

Chunky was silent for a few minutes, deep in thought. "I dunno, I guess…I guess that the idea of death just seems frightening and terrible to me. Thinking about _anyone_ dying makes me feel sad. I know everyone dies eventually, and that sometimes it's unavoidable, but…if I can prevent someone from dying, I want to try."

Tiny smiled at her cousin and shook her head. "You're nuttier that a pecan pie. But that's okay. You're just so sweet, and I don't understand you 'cause I'm _not_. But you know what? If helping K. Rool is important to you, it's important to me, even if I don't understand why you want to do it."

Chunky was shocked. "Really?"

Then, Chunky's huge self hugged his cousin's little self. Tiny braced herself, preparing to be crushed. But she was pleasantly surprised. Despite his bulky size, Chunky could be very gentle.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" After all the mayhem and fear and loneliness of the day, Chunky felt the safest, happiest, and most secure he could ever remember feeling.

When he released Tiny, she looked up at him sternly. "Chunky, I will help you help K. Rool, but you have to promise me something."

"What?"

"Tomorrow, you just need to rest. You've been through a lot today and you need to recover. I'm willing to help K. Rool, but I will **not** sacrifice my cousin for him."

The part of Chunky that had been awakened when he heard that K. Rool was dying, the part of him that would do anything to prevent another's death, wanted to argue. He had to keep going. He had to save the Kremling King. His more cowardly side said he should give up the search altogether. Chunky refused to listen to that side of himself. But Chunky's reason agreed with Tiny. Yes, he could still try to help, but he needed some rest. He was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and if he pushed himself much farther he might break.

So he agreed to Tiny's request. He hated to lose a day, but what else could he do? Besides, he wasn't sure what he would do when he did continue his search. He had run out of places to look.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Chunky laid down to get some sleep. Tiny began to do the same, but suddenly looked at Chunky with concern. "Are you gonna be able to fall asleep okay? I know this place scares you at night…I could always use the clock to make it daytime."

"No, it's alright. You'd wake everyone else up if you did that. Besides, I don't actually feel afraid right now." It was true. Like never before, being surrounded by his family made Chunky feel brave.

* * *

><p>"Should I check the caves again?"<p>

Candy sighed. "You can if you want to, Funky, but I'm pretty sure Chunky's not here. He either went to Fungi Forest or left here already."

Funky shrugged and left to check the caves anyway. Candy wandered around the small clearing with all the small logs and the giant shell in Jungle Japes. Her mind wandered as well, not thinking about where she was or what she was doing.

In the time that had passed since the incident on the bridge at Creepy Castle, she'd hardly been able to think about anything else. After Donkey saved her from falling, she had started to reflect on their relationship. It had started out so innocently and honestly, but somewhere along the way, she had lost those qualities. He became nothing more to her than a trophy, only of value because he was famous and handsome. Her attachment to him had become hollow and meaningless, just as she herself had started to become.

_When had this happened to her?_

_When had she died inside?_

Candy was jolted out of her thoughts when she tripped on a rock and fell to the ground.

And suddenly _he_ was beside her, helping her up, asking if she was okay. It amazed her. How could he continue to care after she had dropped him on a whim?

He extended his massive, furry hand to her and opened his fist, revealing a small, white flower. Candy nearly choked at the sight of it. Happiness bubbled up inside her, and a single tear escaped her eye as she picked up the flower and wove it into her hair.

And suddenly, they were awkward, gangly teenagers again, both feeling shy, nervous, and uncertain, yet feeling a sort of warmth within them.

Candy could feel the cobwebs of her emptiness falling away as love for Donkey Kong returned to her. How had she forgotten this? How kind he was, how innocent, how brave. She had been a fool.

She looked him in the eye, scared to speak but knowing that she must speak or regret it forever.

"Can we start over?"

Donkey nodded. Nothing else needed to be said. Both knew what the other was feeling, and they understood each other. The connection they had lost was being rebuilt.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! Yep, I finally updated! And I'm pretty sure that this is my longest chapter yet, yay! I would like to thank Rae for their review, it inspired me to get off my lazy butt and continue working on this thing! Thanks to anyone who has been reading this, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!**

**I do not own Donkey Kong.**

Chunky awoke to the chirping of birds and the ticking of a clock. He breathed in the sweet smell of the dew-covered grass around him. _It must be morning._ He opened his eyes and sat up, taking in the sights of the forest around him. Clear blue skies. Rustic, tall mushrooms. Vibrant, green grass. Yes, today was a beautiful day. Maybe it was a sign that things would get better.

Chunky yawned and stretched as he stood up, suddenly noticing the other Kongs nearby. They were huddled together in a circle and speaking in hushed whispers.

The whispering ceased as they realized Chunky was awake. Diddy rushed over to him happily and hugged him.

Chunky gasped in pain as he came to the painful realization that he was very bruised. Diddy quickly backed away when he noticed Chunky's discomfort. "Oh, I'm sorry Chunky! I wasn't thinking. I'm just so glad to see you're alright!"

Dixie and Lanky also rushed over to Chunky. Tiny followed them but hung back a bit, exchanging a look with him. _It'd probably be better not to tell them that we're going to keep looking for the mushroom. _Chunky realized. _It'd take too long to convince them that I _need_ to do this._ He nodded at Tiny, understanding her unspoken message.

Tears glistened on Dixie's cheeks as she approached Chunky. "Oh, Chunky! You gave us such a scare!"

"I'm sorry, Dixie. It's just that I...well..."

Dixie held up a hand, taking a deep breath and trying to stop any more tears from falling. "It's alright, Chunky. You don't need to explain right now. I mean, look at you! You poor, poor thing. We need to fix you up." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Here, sit down so I can look at your injuries."

Chunky didn't protest. He was battered, bruised, and sore. Any relief would be welcome.

After surveying Chunky's injuries, Dixie stood and turned to face the other Kongs.

"All right, I need several things in order to treat Chunky's wounds. First off, I need someone to go get water. I think there's a pond or river or something around here..."

Lanky spoke up eagerly. "Ooh! I remember where it is! I'll get some water." Dixie nodded to him and he ran off.

"Okay, the other thing I need is for someone to find something to use as bandages."

Diddy piped up. "I'll do that."

Tiny also responded. "I'll look too. Finding something to use as a bandage won't be easy in here."

"Alright. Thank you."

Diddy and Tiny scampered off to look around the forest.

When everyone else left, Dixie sat down next to Chunky. "So, how do you feel?"

"Better then yesterday, that's for sure. But I am really sore and these burns, they, well, burn."

Dixie nodded. "How exactly did you get burned, anyway?"

Chunky knew Dixie would be upset, so he sort of mumbled his response. "Lightning."

"WHAT?"

Dang. She had heard him.

"It was a lightning strike in Creepy Castle. It wasn't a direct hit though."

"Oh, Chunky." Dixie choked on whatever words she was going to say next and started crying again.

"I'm sorry Dixie. I really, really didn't mean to worry you."

"I know you didn't. It's just that...well, you're lucky to be alive, you know."

She sniffed and tried to wipe the tears off her face. She sighed, calming down, then muttered to herself. "All this risk, all this pain, all for that lousy kremling."

Chunky thought over his response to that comment carefully. He couldn't protest. He didn't want her to suspect that he was going to try to help K. Rool again; she would never let him. The best thing he could do would be to distract her. Chunky turned to Dixie and stared at her incredulously. "Dixie Kong, I think that just may be the most hateful thing I have ever heard you say."

Dixie's cheeks reddened and Chunky smiled. He rarely teased his cousins, but he had to admit, it was kind of fun. And besides, it was kind of true. It was a very rare for Dixie to have a bad thing to say about anyone. She didn't have an angry nature.

A few moments later, Lanky returned with a bucket of water. "Here you go, Dixie. Have Tiny and Diddy come back yet?"

"No."

"Oh, okay. I guess we just wait now." Lanky sat down next to them, but after a few minutes, he stood back up. "I'm bored."

"Well, _sorry_! I would have thought you'd be glad for a few minutes of rest after looking for Chunky all day yesterday. Weren't you worried about him at all?!"

"_Of course_. But if I just sit here, I'll start worrying about his injuries, too. There's not much else we can do until the others get back, so worrying won't do any good. I need a distraction."

Lanky walked over to the swinging pendulum on the nearby clock tree in the center of the clearing, deftly jumped onto it, and climbed up it to the platform above.

"What on earth are you doing?"

Lanky whipped out his grape shooter and shot the target that changed it to night. The sun quickly set, the moon taking its place. Darkness engulfed Fungi Forest as the cuckoo bird popped out of the clock, letting out a warbled, "Tweet, tweeeet!", and then disappeared right back into the clock.

"Lanky! You know Chunky's scared of the dark!"

"Oh, calm down."

He shot another grape at the switch that changed it to daytime. The moon faded and the sun burst from the horizon, bringing light back to the forest. The cuckoo bird emerged once again and called out loudly.

"What are you-"

Lanky shot the night switch again, then the day switch, then the night switch again.

"Lanky, cut it out!" Dixie cried out. Her eyes couldn't adjust to the constant change in lighting.

"Lanky, that's not funny!"

A grin spread over Chunky's face, and he started laughing.

Dixie sighed in exasperation. "Chunky!"

Chunky apologized in between bouts of laughter. "I'm...sorry...Dixie...but...can't...help...it!"

"Oh, fine. You can continue this ridiculousness, but only because poor Chunky is amused by it."

They continued with this for a few more minutes until a hard-edged voice made them all freeze. "Lanky, _what_ are you doing?"

Lanky had just shot the daytime switch, and he stood there, frozen, his gun still in his hands, as the clock spun and the sun rose.

"Answer me."

He set his grape shooter down and looked over the railing of the platform. At the bottom stood Tiny, arms crossed over her chest.

Lanky gulped. "I...I...was just…"

"You were just being an idiot, as usual."

Lanky's face fell and he clambered down from the clock tree hurriedly, suddenly seeming very meek.

"I...I...was just having some fun..."

"Fun? You're having fun? While your cousin sits here in pain? And who knows how many poor animals you're confusing. You've probably disrupted the whole forest."

Lanky tried to respond, but the words wouldn't come. He hung his head, looking ashamed.

"Next time, use your brain and _think_ before you do something stupid. That is, if you even have a brain."

Chunky stared at his other cousin worriedly. Man, she could be a regular ice queen when she wanted to. Then again, she had never been all that friendly to Lanky. He was kind of a black sheep within the family.

"So, did you find anything to use as a bandage?" Dixie tried to distract everyone from the tension in the air.

Tiny shook her head. "No, but Diddy said he had an idea of where he might find something, so hopefully he will be back in a few minutes."

"Oh, good."

Not much later, the Kongs could see the red-clad kong approaching, and he wasn't alone. Donkey, Candy, and Funky followed him.

It was hard to keep track of what happened in the next few minutes. Excited babble filled the air as the three new arrivals rushed toward Chunky. He got hugged by each of them several times before they realized that he was injured and their hugs brought pain. "Oh my gosh Chunky, we're so glad you're alright, dear!" Candy smiled cheerily as she greeted him.

"Yes." Donkey agreed, smiling and squeezing Candy's hand. _They must not be fighting anymore. _Chunky thought to himself. _Diddy will be relieved about that._

Chunky turned his gaze toward the chimpanzee, who had also noticed the couple's change in attitude towards each other. His eyes widened a bit.

Funky placed his hands on Chunky's shoulders and looked at him squarely. "Duuude, those are some wicked battle scars! I bet you took out lots of baddies!"

Chunky chuckled. "Well, I did fight some of those skeleton-kremlings. It was close though. I was only saved because lightning struck them."

Funky nodded in approval. "Right _on_, brother!"

"Soooo," Tiny asked Diddy. "Did you find anything to use as bandages, Diddy?"

"Oh, right. Yes, I did. I found these flour sacks in the entrance area to this place. I figure if you empty the flour out, they'll work out alright." He handed the flour sacks to Dixie.

Dixie tore open the sacks and dumped the flour out. Then she dunked them into the bucket of water that Lanky had collected. The flour on the sacks began to clump together, and Dixie scraped it off of the flour sacks.

Dixie then tore off a piece of one of the flour sacks, then used it to begin wiping some of the dried blood off of Chunky's cuts. Then she tore off more pieces of cloth from the flour sacks, dunked them in the water, and wrapped them around Chunky's cuts and burns. "We need to keep these from getting infected", she explained as she tied them around his arms and legs.

After Chunky had been suitably treated, everyone agreed that they were starving. They sat down in a circle and Donkey produced a bag of bananas he had brought along when they left to look for Chunky.

"So, I bet you're tired from all this traipsing around, huh Chunky?" Candy said as they began eating.

"Yep."

"Aaand you're probably ready to head home, right?" Diddy added.

Chunky swallowed. They couldn't go home now! He had to stay here and find the Soleil Mushroom! He had lost a day in order to recover. He couldn't spare any more time. Adreniline began to pump through his veins, and he felt himself come alive again as his determination returned. He looked at Tiny desperately.

"Don't you think we should stay here one more night? I mean, Chunky's probably not in any condition to walk quite yet. He should probably rest a little more." Tiny said quickly, trying to sound convincing.

"Uh, yeah. My legs are pretty sore from the burns. I think we should stay one more night before we head home." Chunky added, praying the other Kongs believed him.

"Well...that probably is a good idea, actually. We don't want to push you too hard." Dixie agreed.

"All right, it's settled then. We'll stay here for the night." Donkey stated.

"And then we can finally go home, and this whole mess will be over." Diddy said, relief showing on his face.

Chunky mumbled a "Mmm-hmm", but he looked at Tiny out of the corner of his eye, and she met his gaze and winked as if to say, "Yes, we'll go home...eventually."

* * *

><p>Night fell over the forest on it's own, and soon everyone began to fall asleep once again. When he and Tiny were the only ones left awake, Chunky stood up and walked over to her. "Hey." he said quietly.<p>

"Hey" she responded, also standing up.

"So, we better look for the mushroom tonight, while we still have time."

"Yeah. But...Chunky, try not to get your hopes up. I know you want to help K. Rool, but I don't want you to get your hopes up only to have them crushed. I mean, haven't you looked everywhere already?There is a chance that there is no Soleil Mushroom here. There is a chance that there is nothing you can do."

Chunky swallowed. He knew she was right. There was a possibility he wouldn't be able to do anything at all. But her warning had come too late. He had already let hope grow wild within him. If he didn't succeed, it would crush him.

But suddenly, Chunky noticed a golden light being emitted from the well on the other side of the clearing. What in the world would be glowing like that?

He started walking toward the well.

"Chunky?! Are you even listening to me-" Tiny stopped mid sentence when she noticed the light too. "What on earth is that?"

She exchanged glances with Chunky and then began to approach the well with him. When they reached it, they peered down into it and were blinded by the warm, golden light.

But then their eyes began to adjust, and they slowly realized what they were looking at.

Tiny stared in shock. "Oh my gosh."


	11. IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!

**Hi everybody! Okay, so I know it's been crazy long since I last updated and some of you have been wondering if I had dropped this story. Well, I'm here to tell you what exactly has been going on.**

**As I've been writing, I've been looking back at my previous chapters and realizing that they're pretty bad, especially the earliest ones. It's gotten to the point where I know I can't just leave them like that. I decided I'd have to redo them at some point.**

**After thinking it over for a while, I came to the conclusion that rather than finish this story out and then going back to rewrite it, I am going to start rewriting it now and post it as a new story-I figured I'd be happiest starting out fresh, working my way back to the point that I was in the story, then finishing it. I mean, the earlier parts need a lot of work.**

**So, I've posted the rewrite of this story, and it's called "A Hero of a Different Kind". The first chapter is up as of now. Updates may take a while at first, but as I get further updates should get faster because I won't be changing quite as much of the story.**

**So, I want you to know that I'm not giving up on this story, not at all, and I'm hoping to make it much better hopefully. Thanks to everyone who has been following this, it's because of you that I'm even bothering to try and improve this story. Seriously, thank you so much for your support.**

**So please, take a look at "A Hero of a Different Kind", and I really hope you enjoy it!**


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